If you are Muslim.

[Masher]

Hopefully this doesn't come across as insensitive. It is to do with the photograph of the lady in the brown headscarf walking across Westminster Bridge after the attack. I thought she looked terrified, distraught, and very, very shaken. The photographer has just confirmed this.

One thing that crossed my mind I think, is that if I was muslim and caught up in such an act I would really fear for my safety. I would be scared the people there may turn against me, I would be scared that I would be accused of being involved, and I would be scared the security services may do both of these things too.

It got me thinking about how I would feel in everyday life in Britain. I just wondered whether you all feel safe here, or if it changes through various regions and depends on where you are?

If you don't feel safe, or there are times when you don't feel safe, what can I do that would make it better? I live in London if that helps.

M0stly actually I went to school at age 12 with two Plymouth Brethen girls and they didn't wear headscarves.

By the way it's not always Muslims etc who have a monopoly on dress codes etc. orthodox Jewish women wear wigs to cover hair and have to wear full length sleeves etc eg dress modestly.

I'm loving the "We wouldn't be racist fuckwits if only they changed their names and / or dressed like us."

muhujaba headscarves (not for me personally!) used to be worn by women of a certain age in the UK, in the square style tied under the chin, I've also been asked to wear a headscarf when entering Catholic or orthodox churches.

I personally would only wear a headscarf worn in the Muslim style if I were in a Muslim country and to fit in.

Late to the thread but FFS, that poor woman? What was she supposed to do? Intervene when someone who probably knows what they're doing is providing assistance to an injured person? And it's not like she's standing around taking photos, she just wants off that bridge, and rightly so. I work with international students, lots of women from KSA, Libya, Iraq, who wear hijab. Some of the stories they've told me about the abuse they get here - it's sickening. But they still emphasise how much they love this place and the majority of people they meet here.

Agree wholeheartedly with posters upthread who mention that stupid meme about how wonderfully tolerant people in Britain apparently were of Irish Catholics during the IRA bombings. Utter, utter whitewashing and self congratulation. I got into a bit of an argument on FB about it and folk were saying 'but how would people even know who was Catholic, it's not like your lot still walk about wearing black all the time, is it? If someone wants to find out, they'll find out.

Superfly, there are certainly some Plymouth Brethren round my neck of the woods who do wear head scarves - presumably, as with Islam, some women choose to, some choose not to. And yes, I know that orthodox Jewish women cover their hair. I think though that I can't see why covering hair in the interests of modesty is fundamentally different from covering breasts in the interests of modesty - both are ultimately fairly arbitrary rules which apply to one sex and not the other.

I really don't understand why the hijab upsets people so much. The poor woman. No one knows how they will react in such stressful situations, she had a normal reaction to it.
I think people have watched too many films. Real life and your physical and emotional reaction to stress and trauma are sometimes not as you accept (and are often not socially acceptable, not that I'm suggesting that this woman's reaction wasn't)

GrommitsEarsHurt have you red the verses she says mean wearing a headscarf is obligatry the last 3 nowhere mention headscarf and the first mentions covering the chest not the face or hair so ill stop when she confirms nowhere in the quran does it mention women must wear a niqab or cover their face which is what a originally and correctly stated

SuperFlyHigh Yes I think the Queen still wears hers like that

Expect not accept. I'd like to blame autocracy but I've had a glass of wine and I'm sure I have some kind of issue with words as I couldn't read until quite late, sorry.

fuzzywuzzy I find them too short to cover my chest aswell.
I like lots of material so I can wrap it round twice.

yellow can you please give it a rest now?! You're starting to sound manic...

On a separate note I was given a really big scarf like long and wide from H&M by SIL as part of Xmas gift. I have no idea how to wear it!!!

Yes, Owl - exactly, why do people get so bothered? It says so much more about them than it does about the women wearing hijabs.

@Headofthehive55 I wouldn't mind anyone wearing a headscarf if they weren't Muslim - it wouldn't affect me . I don't care who wears what really and wish to be treated the same ! I have lots of English Muslim friends who wear it so most people would assume ur a convert anyway . It really doesn't matter .

AgentCooper, of you are Irish, would you please mind giving your opinion on an incident that happened over twenty years ago? I was in the pub in Blackpool with two Irish girls. Another Irish man seemed to listen to us for a while and then came over and said to them really menacingly, "don't let me fucking see you in here ever again. Is that clear?" They both looked really scared and I didn't know why he would say that to them, when by all accounts they had never met before. It was really odd! Any ideas or is it not connected to them being Irish, don't you think?

Sorry for the derail op, I have just never met another Irish person since then to ask, which is odd when I think about it. I wonder why?

agent

I remember vividly being asked was I catholic or Protestant when i was in junior school and being told that catholics were murderers

Really low level stuff but this was in a south of England school in a market town

I had no idea what a Protestant was.... and neither do i suspect did they

I know more than a few Muslim posters have left MN because they encountered hostility here and felt unwelcome

As have many Christians no doubt, it seems very anti Christian on mumsnet.

Yellow6, no I haven't, but if it I shall anything like the religion I am a member of, then what is written and they interpretation of that into modern language requires a specialist. I also think maybe chilling a bit with it is a good idea. Why get yourself wound up? It doesn't matter in the giant scheme of life, really.

AgentCooper, I forgot to say I obviously wouldn't be offended if you told me to get lost. I appreciate being Irish would not make someone the Oracle on all things/people Irish

Grommits - I know you didn't address your question to me but that has to be one of the most bizarre questions I've ever heard. Why would you think it has anything to do with their nationality or that another irish person would know what it's about? It sounds like one of those slightly surreal encounters that can sometimes happen in a pub.

Wow, people are still arguing about headscarves. Why does every thread about Muslims turn into arguments about headscarves? I don't understand why people keep feeding the trolls and derailing threads.

They made me - . I agree it's bizarre, it's just I suddenly remembered the incident again, when AgentCooper made her post. My thoughts about it maybe being nationality based were that we were discussing something innocuous about music at the time, and the girls had never seen this man before, ever. It was also in the middle of the day, and no one was drunk. No one had even looked in his direction. It was that random. The only thing I did notice was that his accent was Irish too, but different to the girls. Actually, you are right, I should have not asked. Sorry

That made me, rather!

No problem grommits. Pubs can be weird places.

Poor lady. I would frantically call people if i was terrified after witnessing that too. I don't get the big deal about her using her phone. It's all been twisted and it's wrong on so many levels. She wasn't the only one on their phone hmm